Green-Gray Infrastructure

Practical Guide to Green-Gray

Roughly US$ 94 T will be spent globally on infrastructure in the next two decades. Green-gray infrastructure offers more sustainable solutions by combining conservation with selective engineering design for coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial settings to promote flood management, erosion control, water security, food security, coastal protection.

This Practical Guide presents tools and case studies collected by the Global Green-Gray Community of Practice.

Nature-Based Infrastructure

In this IISD literature review, the cost savings offered by nature-based infrastructure (NBI), or green infrastructure, are compared to traditional gray infrastructure services.

Authors conclude NBI provides 28% better value than gray infrastructure, using the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Sustainable Asset Valuation assessments of various NBI projects.

Integrating-Green and Gray

Harnessing the power of nature, a green-gray approach to core infrastructure can deliver next generation performance at lower cost, while delivering more resilient services.

This Integrating Green-Gray report offers a framework and examples for evaluation of green infrastructure from social, technical, environmental, and economic perspectives.

Greening the Grey

Barriers to the process of greening gray assets often arise from cost uncertainty and concerns related to engineering performance, benefits, and reliability. The UK's Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) offers an evidence-based compilation of research and innovations to help 'Green the Grey,' focusing on assets such as bridges, flood control structures, estuarine infrastructure, freestanding or boundary walls, street alignments, and other linear assets.